Agencies line up for NMA creative brief

The Newspaper Marketing Agency has called a review of its advertising arrangements.

The NMA is understood to be talking to agencies including CHI & Partners
and McCann Erickson. The incumbent on the account, VCCP, declined to
repitch.

The agencies have been briefed to work on a project basis in the UK and

are currently in the process of submitting creative work. A decision is

expected within the next month.

In January, VCCP Blue, an offshoot of VCCP that works with clients on
smaller budgets, launched an online campaign for the NMA. It featured
marketing executives from top consumer brands who endorsed newspapers as
a medium to build brands.

VCCP won the NMA account from TBWA\London in July 2005 without a formal
pitch and was hired for a project focused on improving branding and
awareness of the NMA's conference activity.

TBWA\London was appointed after the NMA's official launch in July 2003
as the body responsible for marketing national newspapers.

An NMA spokesman declined to comment.